The conversation on the news show "The Opposite Direction" hosted by
Faisal al-Qassem centered around Syrian President Bashar Assad's
military tactics in the ongoing Syrian civil war. Along with the Israeli
army, al-Qassem also praised the moral character of the French
military.

"Why don't they learn from the Israeli army, which tries, through great
efforts, to avoid shelling areas populated by civilians in Lebanon and
Palestine?

"Didn't Hezbollah take shelter in areas populated by civilians because
it knows that the Israeli air force doesn't bomb these areas? Why
doesn't the Syrian army respect the premises of universities, schools or
inhabited neighborhoods?"

"Didn't they [the Syrian Army] ever hear about principles and morals of
urban warfare? Didn't the Syrian army target many civilian areas despite
the fact that no fighters were present there?" al-Qassem asked.

"The Israeli army, if it wanted to break up a demonstration, would have
used water cannons or rubber bullets, not rockets or explosive barrels
as happens in Aleppo today.

"I want to ask you on one important point. ... It's a shame to compare
the National Syrian Army with the French during the French occupation,
or the Israeli army. Shame!" the moderator added.

Of course, the real question is why Hezbullah - and every Arab fighting force - choose to take shelter among civilians. The fact that they also go after civilians is simply beyond the pale in the post-Geneva convention era.

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I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com